Challenge Cost Share at Work

Under the Challenge Cost Share Program, the Bureau of Land Management funded 88 projects in 2003 to fund wetland restoration, riparian habitat restoration, and water development for wildlife. For example:

Eugene, Oregon

The city of Eugene, Oregon matched BLM's $150,000 in Cooperative Conservation funds with $525,000 to be used to restore the Willow Corner historic wetland and upland prairie habitat. Willow Corner, owned by the city, is in a BLM conservation easement and contains the largest known populations of the Fenders' blue butterfly and its host plant, the Kincaid's lupine, both Federally listed species. The project activities will remove fill from 8.9 acres of historic prairie wetlands, grade it to natural levels, and plant the area with native seeds. This restored habitat will also benefit a variety of wildlife species, including neotropical migratory birds, the camas pocket gopher, the gray-tailed vole, the chorus frog, and the western pond turtle.

The National Park Service has 72 projects that will protect and restore habitat for threatened and endangered species and control invasive species. For example:

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The NPS partnered in a cost share project to restore the native fish in Grand Canyon National Park by removing non-native salmonids (rainbow and brown trout) from certain key tributaries to the Colorado River. Partners including the Glen Canyon Dam Adaptive Management Program, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the Navajo Nation cost-shared this $557,000 project on almost a one-to-three ratio. Trout are the most abundant and prolific exotic fish species within these tributaries and are thought to compete with native species for spawning and foraging resources. Removal of these non-native species will open the habitat for the eventual establishment of core aggregations of native species, specifically, the threatened humpback chub.
The Fish and Wildlife Service funded 98 projects dedicated to a full range of activities including invasive weed removal and establishment, or expansion of, habitat for a range of species, including water fowl. For example:

Prairie Habitat Restoration, Iowa

The project initiates FWS involvement in a regionwide conservation effort directed at helping landowners accomplish on-the-ground invasive species control and habitat restoration. Deep loess soil deposits, created by glaciers, wind, and water, in this form are only found in parts of the Missouri River bluffs of Iowa and Missouri and have since developed a unique landform including plant and animal communities. Species include cactus, yucca, Plains pocket mouse, Skipper butterflies, and Sharptailed grouse. This project will allow landowners, contributing labor, equipment, and materials valued at no less than $100,000 to do fire pre-supression and fuel reduction work in preparation for burning. The Fish and Wildlife Service contribution of $100,000 will assist land owners with site preparation, assist with vegetation restoration, and offer technical assistance relating to grassland management. The Golden Hills Resource Conservation District and Loess Hills Alliance will provide technical and administrative assistance. More than 500 acres of land will be improved, restored, and protected by removing invasive species, establishing fire breaks, and restoring native grasses common to the Loess Hills region.